CUSTOM PERFORMANCE BLOG

Hey, New York! Bomb cyclones and freezing temperatures messing with your running routine? Hate the thought of logging lots of treadmill miles? Here’s how to decide if it’s worth braving the cold temps to run outside.

Running a marathon is not just about your muscles and your legs. As I reflected back on the process it dawned on me that it took every system on my body to complete the Marathon. So here it is, a review of all the systems it took to get to the finish line!

If this schedule sounds familiar, you’re most likely training for an upcoming race. Whether it’s a 10K or full marathon, your running schedule is probably dictating your life. Some weeks go smoothly and others can be a challenge. Between work, your social life, training, and getting enough food and sleep, how do we find the balance? Everyone maintains their life balance in different ways. If you’re anything like me, you rely on lists, meal prep, and a training schedule to guide you through each week. And while every week definitely hasn’t been perfect (I’m always learning), here’s how I’ve been balancing it all out.

Awareness of stress fractures and their season-ending effects has become very prevalent in the running community. Runners are getting a sense of what to look for if they are worried about a possible stress fracture. This is helpful to a degree, but recently we've been seeing an increase in less-common stress fracture types. One in particular, fibular stress fractures (the other lower leg bone next to the tibia), has been showing up in at Custom Performance more frequently.

Welcome to the last two weeks of August, also known as “Calf Cramp Season” at Custom Performance. Like clockwork, we are treated to a deluge of marathoners complaining of calf cramping and pain. Sound familiar?

This is the time in our training cycles that little niggles and weird pains start cropping up. Maybe shin splints are setting in, or your left hamstring is deeeefinitely feeling different than your right.

If you’ve been paying attention to the fitness world lately, you’ve probably heard the term heart rate variability thrown around in regards to training and recovery. In the simplest terms, heart rate variability (HRV) is the measure of time intervals between heartbeats, measuring how well our autonomic nervous system is functioning.

When a new client comes in with a knee pain, eight out of ten times I’ll start my exam at the hip. Seven out of those eight times, my client looks at me like I’m crazy. I think it’s time I reveal the method to my madness.

As PTs, we are often asked when to use ice versus heat for injuries. The answer definitely depends on the injury. Ice and heat can both be used to reduce pain, but they are best applied in different situations. A recent literature review conducted by Malanga, Yan, and Stark examined the differences between heat and ice applications and their effectiveness.